This invention relates generally to construction aids for use by electricians and particularly to a portable device enabling an electrician to have readily at hand one or more spools of color coded wires from which wires may be taken as needed.
In wiring, it is common to thread coded wires through conduit to install desired circuits. In such cases the various colored wire is supplied in individual spools which must be taken to the immediate work area where wire is pulled from one or more spools as needed and threaded through the conduit. The electrician usually works from a step-ladder and is required to get on and off the ladder to manipulate the wires. Also, when the ladder is moved, the spools, which must also be moved, get in the way and or the wires get tangled.
Efforts have been made to overcome the foregoing problem, but so far no device has proven satisfactory for the types of wires and work under consideration. U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,597 describes a device that clamps on a fixed stud and presents a horizontal table with a vertical shaft about which a coil of wire may be placed. The coil is supported on the table and rotates therewith as wire is unwound. The device cannot be used with a plurality of spools because they would interfere with each other. Also, the device is designed for use with vertical standing studs and is only useful if they are available.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a wire dispensing device for dispensing coiled wire from one or more spools of wire at an electrician's work station.
Another object is the provision of a device for mounting a plurality of wire reels which device is portable and is specifically adapted to be attached to the generally upright but not necessarily vertical support rails of an electrician's ladder to have the spools readily available for use even though the ladder is moved from place to place.
A related object is the provision of a coiled wire dispenser of the type described which is adapted to be mounted on ladders of different widths.
The foregoing and probably other objects are achieved by a structure that comprises a pair of brackets each adapted to fit on the generally upright spaced-apart legs of a ladder, means on each bracket for clamping it in place on the legs, a horizontal shaft extending between the spaced apart brackets, means detachably securing the shaft to the brackets whereby, when the assembly is in place on a ladder, at least one end of the shaft may be detached from its respective bracket to enable threading of spools thereon or removal therefrom. The other end of the shaft may be fixed by a pivot to allow the shaft to be swung for such access. It is important that the shaft be generally horizontal and that the several spools be free to rotate independently to insure maximum flexibility of use.
In order that the invention may be more readily understood and carried into effect, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and description thereof which are offered by way of example only and not in limitation of the invention the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.